Pesky journalists might end up being the least of Mike Tyson's troubles from his trip to Havana.

A U.S. congressman and prominent Cuban-American lobbying group want him prosecuted for violating the U.S.'s embargo against its southern neighbor, if he was visiting Cuba merely as a tourist.

By law, Americans are only allowed to travel to and spend money in Cuba if they have an official license from the U.S. government. Authorized groups include journalists, family members of Cuban nationals, humanitarian workers and students on educational missions.

They don't include boxers who may or may not have official business on their itinerary.

"Our position is if it's the law, enforce it," said Steve Vermillion, chief of staff for Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). "After all, this isn't only a country we're unfriendly with. Cuba is one of seven countries on the State Department list of terrorist nations."

Vermillion told ESPN.com that Diaz-Balart will be sending a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday asking that Tyson be prosecuted if he was not granted a license to travel to Cuba. The treasury department enforces the embargo, violations of which on occasion can lead to fines or jail time.

The ban has been loosely enforced in recent years, as tens of thousands of Americans annually travel to Cuba without getting caught or punished. They often get connecting flights from the Bahamas, Mexico or Jamaica. The Cuban government, eager for tourist dollars, typically helps them avoid detection by U.S. Customs by not stamping their passports on the return.

But Tyson's secret was exposed Tuesday, on camera, when journalists approached him in the lobby of the oceanfront hotel where he was reportedly staying in a $500-a-night suite. Hotel workers said he was headed for an Air Jamaica flight after checking out at dawn when Tyson, apparently upset to see the media members, grabbed a few large glass balls from the Christmas tree near the entrance and chucked them in their direction.

One photograph from the scene shows a shirtless Tyson with a tattoo on his stomach of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the late military leader of the Cuban Revolution.

Tyson's attorney on Wednesday told ESPN.com that he did not know the purpose of the boxer's trip or whether he had acquired the appropriate license. He said he had not spoken to Tyson since the alleged incident, but that his presence there should not be cause for legal action by the U.S. government.

"A lot of Americans travel to Cuba," said Darrow Soll, Tyson's attorney. "Mike's a very patriotic guy."

The Cuban American National Foundation isn't convinced. On Tuesday, the Washington D.C. office of that influential lobbying group sent a letter to the treasury urging the department to investigate the circumstances of Tyson's trip and prosecute, if necessary.

If "Tyson did not have authorization to spend funds in Cuba, then it would appear that he has blatantly broken the law," said Dennis Hays, a CANF executive vice president who wrote the letter.

Any action by the treasury department would not likely affect any of Tyson's previous criminal situations. Convicted of rape in 1992 and cited in several other incidents over the past decade, the last of his probationary periods expired in May, Soll said.

Richard Newcomb, director of the treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, which oversees the licenses, declined comment other than to say he was had not yet had time to evaluate the case.

Cuba has flourished in recent years as a tourism destination, with its sultry nightlife, world-class cigars and rum, and a series of new four-star hotels exclusive to foreigners. The Bush Administration showed signs in its early months of cracking down on Americans heading down there, but enforcement appears to have waned since Sept. 11 due to other border priorities.

Tongue in cheek, Hays suggested that perhaps Tyson went to Cuba for political reasons.

"Hey, he's got tattoos of Che Guevara on his stomach and Mao Tze-Tung on his arm," he said. "Maybe he's a revolutionary."

That, too, would surprise Soll.

"He's the biggest capitalist I know," he said.

Tom Farrey is a senior writer with ESPN.com. He can be reached at tom.farrey@espn.com.